Inspired by Nature:  The Garfield Park Conservatory and Chicago's West Side

Garden in the City: New book Celebrates Garfield Park Conservatory's 100th Birthday by Jessica Reaves | Chicago Tribune staff reporter | December 15, 2007

Anyone who has strolled down Michigan Avenue on an early spring day, when the hum of commerce plays second fiddle to the riot of colorful blooms bursting from the sidewalk flowerbeds, knows that Chicago is a city where greenery is taken seriously.

The current mayor has been lauded for his efforts to protect the city's expansive green spaces, and, despite a few raised eyebrows, has made his trademark urban planting a key budget priority. But as anyone who really knows the city will be happy to tell you, the greening of Chicago predates the second Mayor Daley by well over a century.

In 2008, the Garfield Park Conservatory, generally considered one of the city's most spectacular -- and most overlooked -- landmarks, will celebrate its 100th birthday. And just in the nick of time, the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance has published a book filled with reminiscences, historical accounts and stunning photos of the West Side's crown jewel.

Written by Julia Bachrach, an accomplished author who is also the historian for the Chicago Park District, and Jo Ann Nathan, a consulting landscape historian who serves on many related boards, the book is akin to a leisurely stroll through a beautifully designed garden. While the conservatory is technically the star of the show, the surrounding park and neighborhoods are also explored through the lens of Chicago history. The authors introduce us to the city's first iteration of a parks authority, through the early, tentative days of urban park oversight and civic involvement, to what Chicagoans see today: a vast network of green, painstakingly maintained and admired by millions of visitors each year.

In the midst of that network, 5 miles west of the Loop, lies Garfield Park and Conservatory. The park, which consists of open fields, ponds and walking paths, was initially known as Central Park but was renamed after President James Garfield was assassinated in 1881. The conservatory, designed by Jens Jensen, opened its doors in 1908, an event that caused quite a stir in the architectural community.

The stir that really mattered, and continues to matter, was among Chicagoans themselves, who tend to embrace their city's green spaces with a fierce, protective intensity. Chicagoan Alex Kotlowitz opens the book with a brief essay on a walk he and his son took through the park; they spent a sultry summer afternoon wandering its paths and exploring the surrounding neighborhood. Remarks from local kids echo Kotlowitz's enthusiasm; they see the park as an extension of their own yards, to be enjoyed in any weather, their casual devotion surely a testament to the critical importance of aggressively defending urban green spaces.

But the book's focus isn't limited to personal stories; there are antique maps to peruse, architectural plans to examine and gorgeous images from the gardens.

The park and conservatory have served many purposes over the past century: urban retreat, fisherman's paradise, bird-watcher's dream. Its grassy expanses have served as makeshift practice fields for high school sports teams, and the greenhouse has become a classroom for thousands of budding gardeners and environmentalists.

To the uninitiated, Garfield Park and its conservatory may look like little more than a greenhouse surrounded by a vast, varied landscape, but Bachrach and Nathan's book shows the landmark for what it truly is: a reflection of Chicago -- perpetually in transition, its demography in flux, but fundamentally true to an identity planted long ago, its thick roots now inexorably entwined with history.